The beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs depicted dissatisfied veterans as Oscar the Grouch in a recent internal training guide, and some vets and VA staffers said Tuesday that they feel trashed. The cranky Sesame Street character who lives in a garbage can was used in reference to veterans who will attend town-hall events Wednesday in Philadelphia.

The VA says that, of course, it meant no disrespect.

"The training provided was not intended to equate veterans with this character," spokeswoman Marisa Prugsawan said. "It was intended to remind our employees to conduct themselves as courteously and professionally as possible when dealing with veterans and their concerns.”

In which case, shouldn’t the VA employee be depicted as some clueless cartoon character?

But never mind. If this were the most pressing issue facing the VA, all its people could take off early for the Labor Day weekend.